Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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McCORMICK MESSENGER. McCORMICK, S. C.. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1937 What Is the Human Mind? Is “Mind-Reading” Possible? Duke University Experiments May Prove Existence of Telepathy. By WILLIAM C. UTLEY ISTER, have you ever “played a hunch”? Trans acted a business deal against your better judgment because “something told you to”? Moved over to a new fishing spot because you “had a feel ing” the bass would be there— and they were? Lady, has your “intuition” ever told you anything your eyes and ears could never discern? Almost everyone has experienced these things or known someone else who has. Some tell of the most startling experiences with a sincere conviction that cannot be denied: Of dreaming that a dear relative has died, and finding upon investi gation that it is true; of writing on sudden impulse to a friend who has not been heard from in years, only to receive a letter, written by the friend on the same kind of impulse in the next mail; or experiencing an inexplicable premonition while visiting that there is a nre at home, and rushing there just in time to rescue the baby from a flaming death. What is the explanation? Chance coincidence? Or “sixth sense” . . . “mind reading” . . . telepathy? Is there any means of reaching the mind other than through the five recorded physical senses? Science has scoffed in the past. But today a controversy fanned by newspaper stories, popular books and radio pro grams has whetted the country to a new boom of interest in telepathy. Scoffers are still in the majority . . . but few of them can explain away the amazing implications of certain experiments which of recent months have fascinated millions. What Is the Mind? These are the experiments con ducted by Dr. J. B. Rhine and sev eral associates in the department of psychology of Duke university, at Durham, N. C. Of late an adapta tion of these experiments has been employed by the Zenith Foundation in a weekly Sunday night radio pro gram which invites listeners to be come “guinea pigs” in the interest of science. Dr. Rhine sought the answer, or experimenter took a shuffled pack of ESP cards, in unknown order, and laid them before him, face down. The subject was asked to concentrate upon the cards while the experimenter removed them from the pack, one at a time, without looking at them. The sub ject called for each card the symbol which first flashed into his mind. The call was recorded. When the entire pack had been disposed of (and the original order maintained) the actual order of the cards would be observed and checked against the order called by the subject. Since there were five cards each of five different symbols in a pack, pure chance would permit a correct call of 1 card in 5, or 5 cards in 25. But more than a few of Dr. Rhine’s subjects were found to be able to call consistently an average of far more than 5 right out of every 25 cards, in a series of several thou sand runs through freshly shuffled packs. Some of the consistent high scorers at times scored 21 and even 25 hits out of a possible 25. The chance odds against such perform ances, even in thousands of runs through the cards, are so enormous as to be of astronomical propor tions ! Subjects who, under the right con ditions, could consistently call from 6.5 to 10 or 12 cards per 25 offered, were not highly unusual. The “right conditions” were a feeling of con fidence in their ESP ability, interest in the work and physical and mental wakefulness. Even the best sub jects were found to slip back to the chance average when they were self-conscious, skeptical of their ability at the time of growing bored. Such subjects found little appre ciable differences in their averages when they called the cards “down through” the pack, that is, without the observer removing any cards un til the whole 25 had been called. Convinced ESP Is Answer. In fact, it made little difference whether or not they were in the same room with the recorder. Tests were conducted exhaustively with subject and experimenter in rooms 100 and 250 yards apart; a telegraph signal would indicate each ten sec onds that a new card had been drawn by the experimenter from the pack, and the subject would J. S. Woodruff (left) and C. E. Stuart, members of Duke university parapsychology staff, conducting clairvoyance tests with ESP cards. rather some hope of an answer to the a^e-old questions: What is the human mind? Where does it belong, if anywhere, in the scheme of our knowledge as a whole? “ ... If a century of investigation by hundreds of able minds has left the nature of the mind still so pro foundly obscure,” he writes in “New Frontiers of the Mind,” his book which is currently a best-seller, “it is not easy to go on hoping that beating the same pathways of re search, even for another hundred years will bring us to the goal. . . . If the recognized and the usual in our search have so far failed us, it is time to turn, in the matter of our method, to the UNrecognized and the UNusual.” Thus he explains why Duke uni versity’s psychology department seven years ago began a long and laborious investigation of what he calls “extra-sensory perception”— the ability of certain persons to per ceive through some channel other than the senses as we know them. Students, faculty members and their families, in fact almost any one who could be interested, were sought as the subjects of the tests. Preference was given to those who could recall some “psychic” expe rience in their lives or in their fam ilies, on the assumption that they might be better subjects for ESP (“extra-seasory perception”) exper iments. How Tests Were Made Dr. Rhine and his associates de vised a special deck of 25 cards as standard equipment for the tests. The deck contained five cards each of five different characters: a square, a cross, a circle, a star and a series of wavy lines. Here is an example of how one of the earliest tests worked: The write down what he thought the card was. When the test was over, results would be checked against the actual order of the pack. Some subjects actually had more success with this method than when they were seated in the same room with the experimenter. To Dr. Rhine and his staff such phenomena are convincing proof of “extra-sensory perception.” They are convinced that cheating, con sciously or unconsciously, has been ruled out, by their methods, and that the odds against such sustained performances are far, far too great to permit their explanation on the grounds of coincidence. One recent series of scientific articles purporting to “debunk” the Duke experiments offered several explanations, among them that cues were being given, probably uncon sciously, to the subject by the ex perimenter. But this could hardly be possible when the experimenter did not know himself the order of the cards until the pack had been examined AFTER the subject had finished calling. Another explanation is that the results are simply lucky. But the odds against the kind of scoring that is being done, they say at Duke, are so enormous as to rule this hypothe sis out. “Dr. Rhine assumes,” says one scientific writer, “that this same chance (1 to 5) holds straight through the 25 guesses. It would if each card were returned to the deck after the call and the deck shuffled. Actually, as a star is re moved, the chances on that suit are lessened slightly and the chances on other guesses increased.” Criticizes Duke Mathematics. But this can hardly hold water when the subject does not know Dr. J. B. Rhine, whose “extra sensory perception” tests stirred the scientific world. whether any “guess” he has made is right until he is all through guess ing. “The assumption has also been made,” says this same writer, “that, in the long run, pure guessing would result in an average score of 5 guesses right out of 25. But mathe maticians point out that this as sumption is not necessarily correct. Five may be the most likely score on any one run through the deck, but it may not be the average over a large amount of runs because pos sible scores may extend on one side down to zero but no lower—a varia tion of only five points. In the other direction, possible scores range all the way up to 25—20 points above the most likely score.” Still, in hundreds of thousands of mechanical selections, in which the cards were admittedly called by pure chance, the Duke researchists found the average to be almost ex actly 5 hits per 25 cards selected. Now the experiments with which we have dealt here include only clairvoyance — the extra-sensory perception of objects, characters on cards. Dr. Rhine has also conduct ed exhaustive experiments in telepathy—the extra-sensory percep tion of mere thoughts. Here is how that is tested: No cards are used. The “sender,” in one room, gives the ready signal to the subject, in another room—or miles away, for that matter. He then concentrates upon the first symbol (the same symbols are used mentally as those appearing on the ESP cards), chosen at random. The subject records what he believes the symbol to be. After ten seconds there is another signal and the oper ation is repeated; and so on, through 25 calls. At the finish of the run the subject’s record is checked against the order of the symbols as recorded by the experi menter. Some subjects actually made higher scores in the “telepathic” tests than they did in the objective tests. In three daily trials, one sub ject made scores of 19, 16 and 16, in her first experience in ESP work. And she was stationed 250 miles from the sender, with ranges of mountains separating them! Radio Telepathy Test. It is telepathic tests similar in some ways to these which are being employed on the Zenith Founda tion’s radio program. In the first program, listeners were told that a selecting machine in the studio would be operated seven times dur ing the test, each time selecting a color—black or white (if, indeed, they may be called colors). A com mittee of ten scientific observers would, after each selection, concen trate upon that selection for a period of ten seconds. Listeners were also asked to concentrate and keep a record of what they believed the se lections to be. The observers were sworn to secrecy and the machine was operated in a closed booth. Se lections were recorded, but kept un der lock and key, not to be opened for a week, when listeners’ records would have time to reach the studio. Unbeknownst even to the sponsors or to the studio attaches or listen ers, the observers purposely left the third and seventh trials blank, to determine whether the public at large naturally has a preference for either black or white which might affect its choice in the other trials, in which the machine actually se lected a black or white space. Approximately 20 per cent of those who replied called four of the five actual trials correctly, a mark one-third over “chance expecta tion.” But most interesting of all is the fact that a sizable num ber of listeners who sent in all five answers correctly also desig nated blanks on the third and sev enth trials, although they were not told that these trials were blanks! Dr. Rhine does not attempt to ex plain what “extra-sensory percep tion” is —whether it is akin to radio waves (a theory he rejects for rea sons too detailed to recount here) or some other transference of ener gy. He will be content if he proves to the world of science that there is some door to the human mind oth er than through the recognized senses. And he would, of course, like to discover just where the hu man mind fits into the general scheme of things—in fact, what the mind really is, after all. But at present he will continue his amazing work and follow the ad vice of Sir Isaac Newton: “Let hypotheses alone until the facts require them.” © Western Newspaper Union. I★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ ■A ★ ★ STAR DUST if ★ ★ ★ jMLovie ★ ★★★By VIRGINIA VALE★★★ Radi io ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ O FF - SCREEN romance is having a big influence these days in casting pictures. Para mount has given a three-year contract to John Barrymore and his wife, Elaine Barrie, and will feature them together in a picture as soon as a suitable story can be located. Making pictures with Mr. Barrymore used to be a nightmare to direc tors. Some days he was three hours late showing up for work, and some times he disappeared for days. When he did arrive on time, likely as not he would make such caustic remarks to his fellow players that their nerves were practically shat tered. Marriage to the young and ambitious Miss Barrie has changed all that. She has made him settle down to work in earnest. —-K— At last the quarrel between Fred die Bartholomew and Metro-Gold- w y n-M a y e r has been settled and Freddie will soon re turn to work. Under the new agreement he will get two thou sand dollars a week for forty weeks, and three thousand weekly for six weeks of personal appear ances. Also he gets a dollar a week ad ditional for pocket money. He’ll need it with a twenty-five thousand dollar bill owed for law yer’s fees. One of your tried and trne friends of radio, whom you may not know by name, has Just made a great success on the New York stage—but he is still on the air. It is Clay ton Collier. You have known him as master of ceremonies for both the Leo Reisman and Eddy Duchin bands, hero of the “Pretty Kitty Kelly” sketch, and chief doctor in the story of “Girl Interne.” With all his rushing about from radio re hearsals to stage performances, he never seems to be in a hurry, is always quite unruffled and casual in manner. —-K— A mysterious Mr. Gallagher flew into New York and began escorting Janet Gaynor to theaters and night clubs, but the Twentieth Century- Fox publicity department wasn’t fooled for a minute. They knew it was Tyrone Power all the time, and made him come out from under his assumed name and attend a huge cocktail party in his honor. There are big plans ahead for young Mr. Power. He will play Disraeli. Ann .Miller, who played Ginger Rogers’ dancing partner, is playing the lead in “Radio City Revels” op posite Milton Berle, the air comic. Her discovery is one of those strange tales of Hollywood. She and her mother went to California and almost starved while she was trying to break into pictures. Finally, defeated, she took a cabaret en gagement in San Francisco and the very first night she played there, qn R. K. O scout saw her and signed her up. She had been trying to get into his office in Hollywood for three years! Freddie Bartholomew Just the other day Warren Newell, a laborer at the Universal studios, wiped out the dis grace of ten years ago when he was discharged from a minor league base ball team for drop ping a flyball in a crucial point in the ninth inning. He made a real catch! Alice Faye, catching her heel in the hem of her dress, toppled over a sixteen-foot Alice Faye ledge and would have landed on theater seats below if Mr. Newell hadn’t rushed to the rescue and caught her just in time. ODDS AND ENDS: Bing Crosby was so delighted with the smart dialogue in Carole Lombard's picture, "True Confess sion, ,, that he insisted on having the aw thor, Claude Binyon, write his next. It will be staged at Bing's own race track, and Mary Carlisle will play the lead, as usual, because she is the only actress Bing can make love to without making his son Gary burst into tears . . . Robert Taylor will be back in time for Christmas and if he ever goes away again he will insist On Barbara Stanwyck having a telephone in stalled at her ranch retreat . . . Lanny Ross, having worked over his new radio program until it suits him and everyone else, may make the next "Broadway Mel ody” for M-G-M. . . . Warner Brothers' "Great Garrick” is the most delightful pic ture in many weeks, largely because of the witty way that Brian Aherne and Olivia de Haviland poke fun at the business oj acting . . . Jean Hersholt will vary the monotony of playing Doctor Dafoe on the screen by playing Doctor Christian on a coast-to-coast radio program over the Columbia system. © Western Newspaper Union. A Durable Rug of String Pattern 5927. A durable scatter rug in cotton —quick to do, inexpensive, sturdy, colorful. It’s made of four strands worked together forming a stout “thread.” Made in three colors, you can have gay rugs for Winter —rugs that will fit the coloring of your rooms exactly. Crochet the medallions one at a time, some plain, some figured, and join them for this stunning diamond design. In pattern 5927 you will find com- MnjcLe SajjA: On Uncrowded Roads There were careless drivers 30 years ago, but the horses had sense. All the ladders of success have a missing rung, here and there. You have to be prepared for that. If one must be homely why can’t one be grandly homely like Abra ham Lincoln was? Things we’d like to know. Why are lawyers’ arguments called briefs? Quickly Gets Around A rumor may not have a leg to stand on, yet how swiftly it travels. If you tell your secret why do you expect others not to? Silence doesn’t always mean that your adversary in argument has given in. stone free. Some stones that don’t roll, don’t accumulate moss. They get buried in the mud. It's the Grindstone Men with axes to grind will also make a beaten path to your door if you let them use your grind- Ancestors are a great source of pride, particularly if they left for tunes. Don’t make fun of dignity. A man without any is painful to con template. Men like Longfellow and Tenny son have a good many monu ments, though they don’t need any. What Might Have Been It is when our budding hopes are nipped beyond recovery by some rough wind, that we are the most disposed to picture to our selves what flowers they might have borne if they had flourished. —Dickens. plete instructions and charts for making the medallions shown; an illustration of them and of the stitches used; material require ments ; a photograph of the medal lion; color suggestions. To obtain this pattern, send 15 cents in stamps or coins (coins preferred) to The Sewing Circle, Household Arts Dept., 259 W. Fourteenth St., New York, N. Y. Please write your name, ad dress and pattern number plainly. Often “acid indigestion” is dis tressing to you — and offensive to others. But now there is no excuse for being guilty. You simply carry your alkalizer with you — and use it at the first sign of “upset” stomach. Simply take two tiny tablets of Phillips* Milk of Magnesia when out with others. Or — if at home — you can take two teaspoons of liquid Phillips*. 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